The Imagination Library of Washington announced Monday, April 28, that it will no longer receive funding from the State of Washington for its early literacy program.
The Imagination Library of Washington, the state partner to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, began its partnership with the state of Washington in 2022 when the Legislature agreed to match funding for the program.
With the program now being cut from the state operations budget that was passed out of the Legislature last weekend and is now being reviewed by the governor, the program predicts it will need to find $7 million in funding to continue the program for the next two years.
The state organization estimates the loss of funding will affect 46 imagination library partners across the state that serve 121,000 Washington children.
“With the loss of state funding, our statewide programmatic framework has been altered, and we must now pivot to address this funding challenge,” said Brooke Fisher-Clark, executive director of Imagination Library Washington. “We need the public to rally and help us preserve this impactful program for young children. Please act and contribute now to ensure its survival.”
However, Lewis County will not feel the same negative impacts as many other localities across the state.
That's because the Lewis County program started three years before the state signed on as a funding partner.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is an early-literacy program that provides age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to 5 years old. Participants receive one book a month. The effort is the flagship program of the Dollywood Foundation and was created by legendary country singer Dolly Parton in 1995 in honor of her father who never learned to read or write.
In 2019, the Lewis County Rotary Foundation raised $20,000 and gave that money to the United Way of Lewis County to become the local partner of the Imagination Library and bring the early-literacy program to the area.
That partnership continues today, and the Rotary Foundation has raised more than $250,000 for the program since its creation.
While the recent funding cut at the state level does mean the program will lose out on supporting funds, United Way of Lewis County says that, for now, nothing with the program will change locally. It will continue to serve the more than 2,500 children enrolled in the Lewis County program just like it had before.
While other localities will now need to begin fundraising to keep their programs going, the Lewis County chapter has always relied on that kind of community support.
The Lewis County Rotary Foundation says that won’t change now. Without the bonus dollars from the state, donations will be more and more important to keep the program running long term.
According to the United Way of Lewis County, it costs $31 a year to support a child in the program. To continue to raise money for the program, the United Way of Lewis County and the Lewis County Rotary Foundation will co-host a Dolly Day celebration May 17.
The event will run from noon to 2 p.m. at Chehalis Outfitters and will continue that evening at 7 p.m. for the Dolly Day concert at The Juice Box in downtown Centralia. That event will feature music by Cascade Country artist Kitty Mae and a silent auction.
People unable to attend can make a donation through the United Way website at https://www.lewiscountyuw.com/.
To learn more about the Imagination Library or to enroll a child, visit https://www.lewiscountyuw.com/dolly-partons-imagination-library.
